Beauty Mythbusters: Will Eating Chocolate Make Me Break Out?

There are a variety of beauty “myths” out there, and it’s sometimes hard to tell the truth from the very tall tales. We here at Beauty High are determined to bust down those beauty myths and figure out once and for all what we’re really supposed to believe. If you have any myths that you want us to prove or bust, tweet at us @BeautyHigh with the #BeautyMyths.

MYTH: Eating chocolate will make you break out.

SOMEWHAT LIKELY: Dr. Dina Strachan, a board-certified dermatologist and the director of Aglow Dermatology, says that while there is no good evidence to suggest chocolate causes breakouts, there may be other reasons why it can be likely. “There was a small study reported by some researchers from the University of Miami which showed acne flares associated with increased consumption of pure cocoa, however, the study was very small and the subjects were not followed for very long,” says Strachan, so it’s hard to come up with a conclusion.

There is some evidence that a high glycemic diet can cause acne flairs, says Strachan, so the sugar in the chocolate you’re eating could be to blame. Or it could be because you’re eating chocolate before your period and instead hormones are the reason for your breakouts. Strachan does tell patients that “if they notice that their acne flares up when they eat chocolate that they should avoid it.” While you may not want to give up chocolate, it could be beneficial to take it out of your diet to see if your acne does clear up.